American College of Surgeons teams with CDC to prevent surgical site infections

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the CDC have announced a three-year project to harmonize measures in preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) and other adverse outcomes among surgical patients.

The ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, will develop and maintain SSI along with infectious and noninfectious complications measures that affect surgical patients, according to an April 16 statement.

“This partnership will help close gaps that exist between direct patient care and public health,” said Daniel Pollock, MD, Surveillance Branch Chief of CDC’s Division of Health Care Quality Promotion. “Bringing clinicians, surveillance experts, and prevention leaders to the same table will help ensure we collect the right data in the right way so that patient safety can be maximized.”